Support Center

How can I use WordPress with my domain?

Depending on which type of WordPress you are using, there are several ways to set it up with your domain. Read on to find the one that's right for you!

1. Self-hosted WordPress (you downloaded software from wordpress.org)

You will need a web hosting account where you will upload the WordPress software and any other software or code you want to use with your site. iwantmyname does not provide web hosting, but you can see our list of recommend hosting partners here, or you are welcome to use any hosting service you like.

If you use external hosting, most likely you will be changing to their nameservers. Please note that if you change to external nameservers for your domain, any DNS records setup or updates will need to be done in your web hosting account after that, rather than in your iwantmyname dashboard. Using external nameservers deactivates our DNS management.

To update the nameservers to your external web hosting provider, login to your iwantmyname account and then click on the domain name you want to set up. On the next page, click update nameservers.

Click on thePopular Settings drop-down list to check if your hosting provider is there. If so, click on the host's name and it will automatically populate the nameservers you need. Then click the Update Nameservers button to save the new settings.

If your hosting provider isn't in that list, it's most likely because not all customers get the same set of nameservers. You will have to get the hosting provider's nameservers from setup instructions you receive, or ask your web hosting provider for them.

Once you have the hosting provider's nameservers, you will delete all of the four iwantmyname nameservers showing, then enter the nameservers for your hosting provider. You will need at least two, but it's okay if there aren't four like with the iwantmyname nameservers. Once that's done, click the Update Nameservers button to save the new settings.

Note that in a few cases web hosts do offer DNS records to connect your domain in addition to or instead of nameservers. If this is the case for you, you don't need to change the nameservers from the iwantmyname ones.

You can add the required DNS records provided by your web host in your domain dashboard by clicking on the name of the domain you would like to set up, and on the next page in the dashboard, clicking on manage DNS records.

You can then add the records provided (usually A records) and save the settings. You can find specific guides for adding different DNS records in our help centre. After that you can continue using our DNS dashboard (unlike when the nameservers are changed).

2. Hosted WordPress (you have an account and manage your website on wordpress.com)

If you are using wordpress.com to host your website, there are two ways to connect it with your domain name: add DNS A records or change the nameservers.

If you prefer to add the A records and not change the nameservers (e.g. if you already have a lot of DNS records set up in your iwantmyname dashboard that you do not want to move), please login to your iwantmyname account and send us a request using our support form, then we can add the correct setup for you.

To change the nameservers, login to your account and go to the update nameservers page as outlined in the instructions above, and click onWordPress.com in the Popular Settings drop-down list to automatically populate the nameservers. Then just click the Update Nameservers button to save the new settings.

Once that is done, any DNS setup or updates for that domain will be done in your WordPress account rather than in your iwantmyname dashboard.